The Rebirth of the FOH
by T'ChallaOroro
Summary: The Friends of Humanity are back and looking for payback against all mutants. How do they plan to use their trap? And how will the X-men rescue one of their own? Poll up on Author's profile, vote for the crossover you would like to see!
1. Chapter 1

The rebirth the FOH

Graydon Creed presidential campaign was in full swing. His anti-mutant campaign platform was rallying many behind him. Not only was it gaining in momentum but, the government was taking its own anti-mutant steps.

Ororo had been spending the day in NYC. She spent some of it with Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a loose blue t-shirt. She wore sneakers and her hair was pulled into a long ponytail. She was walking to a new plant store she had heard about. She walked in a little bell chimed.

"Just a minute!" someone called out. The store was full of all varieties of plants. It felt like a greenhouse which did not bother Ororo at all.

"No problem, I am just looking," Ororo answered. She saw many plants that she was interested in and she found several she was not familiar with. Ororo touched some of the leaves checking their texture and making sure they were well watered and nourished.

Just then the cashier appeared from the back brushing her hands on her apron. "Sorry was replanting some new plants. Is there any thing I can help you with?" she asked. Ororo looked up and saw a woman that looked to be in her early forties. She had dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. The lady had a winning smile. "Is there any plant in particular you are looking for?" she asked.

"Just some new plants for my greenhouse," Ororo responded. She was notice the plants were being well taken care. There were vibrant colors and were not drooping in the slightest.

"Well I have not had time to put them out but I did receive a new shipment of African Rosemallows. They are just seedlings now but they will grow up to five feet tall," the lady told her.

"They are beautiful," Ororo told her. "I have seen them growing wild in Africa."

"Would you like to see them? They are my first shipment and I would like a second opinion on their condition," she told Ororo.

"I would be honored," Ororo told her.

"Great!" she responded smiling. "They are just past this door," she told Ororo. She was opening another door then the one she had come out of. Ororo walked through the door into a dark room and the door and she had come through was slammed shut, and the hissing of gas came from all around. Ororo tried pushing the door open again but it was locked tight. Ororo held her breath and tried to summon her powers only to realize they were neutralized. Ororo held her breath as long as she could then she had to breathe in the gas. Within moments she was out cold.

"It seems that might actually work as to catch mutants and generate money for our cause along the way. I must say the mutant detection over the door is genius," the sales lady told someone who was out of sight.

"Thank you my dear," a male voice replied. A man stepped out from the back. He had a tattoo on the side of his neck with the earth and the letters F.O.H. across it.

"With all the mutant sightings in the area, it was an optimal place. We figured there were enough mutants that some would want plants that a plant store would be a great cover to draw them in." There was a sound of a truck starting and the man grabbed a gas mask from under the counter. "I will take her in and see you later," he told the woman.

"See you later," she told him as he slipped the gas mask on. He turned on the lights on and quickly opened the door and entered the room Ororo was in. He quickly closed the door behind him so only the barest amount of gas escaped. The room was tinted green by the sleeping gas. He none too gently picked Ororo up and dragged her over his shoulder before unlocking a back door to the room. He dropped her in the back of a pickup and secured her arms and feet to the truck. He then covered her with a tarp to hide her from view. He then got in the passenger seat and the truck took off.

Several hours later at the X-mansion:

"Scott have you seen Ororo?" a red haired woman asked. The man turned he had ruby colored glasses and military style cut brown hair.

"No, when were you expecting her back?"

"A few hours ago. I'm starting to worry Scott. It's not like her not to call if she is running late," Jean pointed out.

"You're right. That is not like Ororo at all. Have you tried contacting her telepathically?" he asked. She raises her hands to her temple and closes her eyes her eyes in concentration, then squeezes them tight. She opens them and slowly, disappointedly lowers her hands. She looks directly at Scott.

"I get nothing, not even a whisper."

"She could be out of range and stuck in traffic," he suggested. Jean glared at him because they both know that was unlikely. "Let's go talk to the Professor," Scott told her rubbing the back of his neck. Then headed down to the Professor Xavier's office and Scott raised his hand to knock when the door was opened from within.

"Scott, Jean I was about to call you," Professor told them as Hank let them in. Hank, Logan, Rogue, Remy, and Bobby were already there. They all had serious looks on them. "This was aired just a few minutes ago," he told turning to the TV in his office. He turned it on and hit play. The TV came to life showing some sort of rally.

"We received this clip from an unknown source just a few minutes ago. It seems to be happing in Central Park," the female newscaster was saying. She was off screen will the TV was full of protesters. The crowd was chanting and once she had finished you could hear the crowd chanting.

"No more mutants! Protect our children! No more mutants!" they chanted. The crowd had signs stating "No more mutants" written in red. A middle aged man stepped onto a makeshift stage and the crowd cheered. He wore a dark blue business suit and flat black dress shoes. He had light brown hair and was medium built. He raised his hands and the crowd died down.

"My friends, we have gathered here today to take a stand. To stand up for humanity, for our future and our children's future," he had to stop for the crowd to quiet again so he could be heard. "We must stand together to survive!" he tells them raising his voice. "We can not let these mutants win and take our homes, our jobs, our families away!" the crowd shouts in agreement. "We have the power to stop them! By working together we can stop them! The Friends of Humanity with your help can stop the mutant menace from spreading. They can stop the mutants for good with your help!" he tells them. The crowd starts chanting "Friends of Humanity" making the man smile. He gestures them to calm down and slowly the crowd quiets down after a couple of minutes.

Logan shook his head. He heard the stuff before. The Friends of Humanity were up to their old tricks again. He saw their trademark sign on the back of the platform on a flag. The globe of the earth with the letters FOH on top of it, the X-men had dealt with them before and it was obvious to him they had to deal with them once again.

His eyes scanned the room taking in the general mood and reactions in the room. Hank was a bit edgy and tensed he watched intently. He along with Scott, Jean, and Bobby had been dealing people like the speaker since their early teens, when they were the original X-men. He was the most noticeably mutant of the assembled. He looked like a blue gorilla with blue eyes dressed in a white lab coat and had a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

Rogue was tensed and had his fist clenched in balls. She looked was she was ready to destroy something and Logan knew she did not need much to destroy something large. She was dressed in her green and yellow uniform. Her yellow boots reached just past her knees and her yellow gloves covered her hands. Her brown belt and Brown fighter jacket complete the out fit. Her green eyes held anger her brown head band kept her brown hair with its distinct white front out of her eyes. Logan could see she was eager for a fight and he knew she could do some real damage with just her fist because of her super strength. He knew that she wore a suit that covered her whole body was for her protection along with everyone around her. Even the slightest skin to skin touch could prove devastating for both her and the person she touches due her mutant power to absorb the energy, thoughts, and if the person had super powers, their powers from them. Rogue lived in constant fear of harming those around her and absorbing them permanently. She had done that before and gained super strength and flight from the person. But, she also had the woman's mind running around her head.

Logan's eyes then slid to her on again off again boy friend Remy. Remy wore his customary floor length trench coat over his purple and black body suit. His knee high boots looked metallic but, Logan knew that Remy could do more on them then any could in metal boots. His hair was kept out of face by, his uniform that covered his forehead and the back of his head and ears. His face had no coverage and his red and black eyes watch the TV intently. One could even imagine there was a fire with them. Logan knew the trench coat had various pockets the held many cards that Gambit could charge in an instant and use fling them so that they exploded causing damage to his target. The coat also hid an expandable bo-staff that Remy had.

Jean stood to Remy's left. Her eyes were glued to the TV taking in every move. She and Scott unlike the others were dressed in civilian clothes. She was dressed in a pair of tight jeans that did not do anything to hide her shapely legs. She was wearing a loose green t-shirt that matched her compassionate green eyes. Her hair was fiery red and she had a temper to match but, she was more known for her peace making then her temper. Logan when he first came immediately was attracted by Jean but, he knew that was not meant to be.

Next to Jean was her husband, Scott. He was also in his civilian wear, a pair of loose fitting jeans and a loose t-shirt. He was standing tall and at attention. He looked almost military how he stood despite never being in the military. He wore red tinted glasses. Logan knew that Scott was like that because of his powers. He was unable to control his powers without his special goggles or visors that he wore in uniform.

Last of the X-men was Bobby. He was the one of the youngest in the room. He was also one of the original X-men. He was tensed but did not show the anger that Rogue showed or the calmness that Scott showed. He was dressed in a simple pair of blue trunks. That was all Bobby needed, his mutation prevented him form getting cold and when he was out in the field he was called Iceman for his ability to create things out of ice and the ability to turn his entire body into ice. He had come a long way from when Logan first joined the team. But, he was still the prankster of the group but, he also knew when to be serious. He was concerned by the one who was not he did not see that had him a little worried, Ororo was usually one of the first to come to meetings like this since she along with Scott lead the teams on missions.

He then turned his attention back to the TV and what was happening there. "We have set up a hot line for any mutant sightings. But, we are counting on you, the good citizens of the cities to help. Together we can stop this menace together humanity shall prevail!" he shouts. The crowd roars in response. He is handed a sign that he holds up and that is when the TV is turned off by the Professor. "We must be on alert we may be called on to help at any moment to help out with riots and things," the Professor warned them.

***

~Professor, we have another problem,~ Jean sent to him telepathically. ~Ororo was suppose to be home a few hours ago but, she has not come back and I could not contact her when I tried to contact her I did not get anything.~

~I see~ he sent back. He hands were folded into a triangle in front of him.

"One problem Chuck," Logan stated speaking up. "We are missing 'Ro," Logan said calling Ororo by a shorten version of her name.

The Professor was about to respond when his phone rang. Taking everyone by surprise apparently no one was expecting a phone call. He picked it up and greeted the person on the other end. It was apparent it was not good news as the Professor's face turned sad within a few moments he hung up and closed his eyes.

"Professor?" Jean asked softly concerned. He had closed his mind off to her and that was usually a bad sign.

"That was Sue Richards, Ororo had gone and seen her earlier. They just return from an incident in the city. They apparently found Ororo's wallet but not her," he told them sadly. Jean and Rogue gasped while Remy mumbled under his breath well placing an arm around Rogue's shoulders. Scott wrapped and arm around his wife's shoulders and Logan let out a growl.

"I'm on it Chuck," Logan stated pulling on the cowl of his mask over his pointed hair. He was now fully covered in his blue and yellow uniform that covered everything but the middle of his arms and his lower face.

"Not alone," the Professor told him his tone left no argument. "We already have one X-men missing we do not need another one," the Professor told him. He held a hand to stop any protest. "I know you can take care of yourself but, so can Ororo. Jean, Scott, and Hank I want the three of you to go with Logan. Bobby, Remy, Rogue you three will stay here and help monitor the situation," the Professor told them. The X-men nodded and went their separate ways leaving the Professor by himself. "God speed my X-men," he whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Logan, Scott, Jean, and Hank approached the Baxter Building home of the Fantastic Four. They were going to see Sue Richards see if they could find any leads on where Ororo had disappeared to. All suspected something foul was going on since Ororo was not one to forget something like her wallet. So Logan thought the best place to start looking was with her wallet. Logan could identify people who have touched the wallet by scent.

Logan was not one to stand by and when a teammate was in danger. He was ready to storm in the Baxter Building and force his way in. "Logan, there is no reason to rush in. They are expecting us," Jean pointed out

"That will have to wait," Scott cut in. He was looking away from the building where they had been headed. He was looking down the road where a young mutant was running for his life.

Without being told Jean scanned to see what was happening. "He is sacred and confused. He is running from mutant haters and they appear to be well armed," Jean told them after a moment's concentration. She reopened her eyes and there was a crackle of electricity around her as she transformed her street clothes into her blue and yellow uniform. Hank simple removed his oversized brown trench coat and hat and stood at ready. Scott removed his shirt to show his blue uniform and yellow uniform. He took off his glasses squeezing his eyes shut as he pulled his cowl and visor on. He then removed his pants to show the bottom half of his uniform. With growl Logan followed suit to reveal his yellow and blue uniform.

"Let's get this over with," he stated as he pulled the top of his mask and started charging. Jean was right behind him using her telekinesis to lift herself into the air. She raced ahead as Beast and Cyclops were right behind them. Logan now in uniform called Wolverine unleashed his claws and ran straight for the crowd. Scott in uniform called Cyclops shot an optic beam between the crowd and the mutant they had been chasing. It was a warning shot hitting the ground to keep the mob away from the young mutant.

"It's the X-men!" one of the men shouted.

"Mutant scum!" another shouted.

"Let's get them!" a third man shouted. With a roar the crowd charged toward the X-men. Wolverine charged into them slicing guns in half and cutting people there were cries of surprise and pain. Jean had formed a barrier between the mob and the young mutant while Cyclops fought hand to hand with the mob. Beast nimbly avoided the mob by bouncing from one person's shoulders to another set of shoulders avoiding the many grasping hands. Jean levitated the scared and confused boy out of the mob's reach and gave him the once over to make sure he looked okay.

Several men were bleeding from Wolverine's claws while some had headaches thanks to Beast. Cyclops had landed several well placed kicks and punches. Despite being out numbered the mob realized that the lacked the firepower to bring the X-men down.

"You want some more?" Wolverine asked with a growl taking a fighting step. A man steps forward to fight when another man places a hand on the first man's shoulder. The first man turned furious till the second shook his head and gestured toward the man that were bleeding from wounds that Wolverine had inflected.

The man turned toward the X-men. "This is not over mutant scum!" he promised shaking his fist at them. Jean was busy comforting the young mutant as the others watch the mob collect their wounded and walk away. Most of the mob sent glares of disgust and hatred in their direction.

"Jean, how's the boy?" Cyclops asked. He made sure that the mob was safe distance away before turning his back toward the mob and kneeled down next to Jean and the boy.

"He is fine," Jean told him. "Just a bit scared and wanting to find his mom," Jean assures them. The boy nods and smiles at them thankful for their help.

"Yeah, yeah we save the kid now, I am going to see if I can find any trace of Ororo," he told them stalking off toward the Baxter Building.

"He never changes," Cyclops stated a bit annoyed.

"If he did he wouldn't be Wolverine anymore," Jean pointed out kissing Cyclops on the check.

"True," Cyclops admitted grinning at his wife. "Beast, why don't you join Wolverine in trying to locate Storm while Jean and I will try locating the boy's family?"

"Will do!" Beast called out. Going after Wolverine like and ape he so resembled.

Meanwhile in an unknown location:

The pickup truck that Ororo had been placed in rumbled to a stop. The gate was dropped and the tarp was pulled off her. She let out a moan as she started to wake up. The man untied her from the truck but made sure her feet and hands were tied tightly. He hauled over his shoulder and carried her like a bag of potatoes. The truck was parked in a warehouse with doors big enough to let two semis in side by side. They had heavy chains and locks to keep anyone from escaping. The locks were both combination and key locks. On the back wall there was a big globe with the letters FOH across it. The rest of the walls were white. Besides the massive doors there were chained shut there were five other doors. Two sets of double doors and one single door off the main receiving room. The single door was a classic brass knob with a dead bolt. The others were classic double warehouse door with push bars entrance. All doors were painted white same as the wall.

The man carried Ororo through a set of double doors. Behind the doors was a corridor that had many doors off it. The corridor looked similar to a solitary confinement wing in a jail. All the doors were solid metal, slid to the side when opened. They had non-electronic locks that locked individual and had handle bars to open and close them. The whole corridor was metal making it even more oppressive the man's footsteps echoed eerily down the hall. He places her in the farthest cell from the door. The man places her on the single cot. The cells had a toilet, and sink other then those two things and the cot it was empty. Ororo moaned as she was placed on the cot. The man walked out and slammed the doors tight and it automatically locked. There was a low hum as the built in power dampener came to life. The man then left the corridor by the single door that lead into it. He pulled the heavy door closed and it clanged close and locking.

"Ok what we got!" he shouted. One man ran up to him and handed him a folder.

"The store front is working perfectly. Not only is it brining in extra income for the cause but it drawing in some mutants. We have already captured one mutant and have positively identified her," the man told him.

"I already know we captured a mutant I just locked her up," the man growled.

"Yes, well the mutant is actually one of the X-men one of their leaders actually. She is called Storm well working with the X-men and in those costumes they wear. Anyways, after some research done by Cathy after seeing her in the store we were able to get her file. Her real name is Ororo Monroe. Both her parents were killed when a plane crashed into her house when she was very young. The event left her claustrophobic for life. After that she was taken in by a thief's guild in Cairo where she lived as a pick pocket and street thief for many years. Then in her early teens she traveled South into the dessert where she meet a warrior prince by the name of T'Challa. They had a brief relationship before going their own ways. Between the times she left Cairo and she met the young prince her powers over the weather manifested. Once she learned control of her powers she came upon a tribe that worshipped her as a goddess because of her powers. She remained with the tribe till she was recruited into the X-men. She has remain with the X-men ever since," the man told him.

"Very good Tom," the first man praised the second man. "Where did find all that information any how?" he asked when the two man reached the other side of the receiving room and were about to pass through the double doors.

"We were able to hack into a government mutant database that had information on many mutants. The database appears to have been abandoned for unknown reasons. It took quite a bit of work to hack in but we have information on most of the X-men and any mutant that worked with the government or had been arrested till the time the database was shut down," Tom told his superior.

The first man nodded and opened the doors leading Tom down the corridor this one was painted a soft blue. It had usually office doors and half way down the hall they entered one of the offices. "Any other information you have for me?" he asked Tom.

"Working on it Michael," Tom responded. Tom walked over to the file cabinet and pulled out another file. "We have files on many of the other X-men and Brotherhood members here," Tom took out the file and lay out on the table.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Hank and Logan made their way up to the Fantastic Four's living area of the Baxter Building. They lived in the upper levels of the building with Reed's lab taking part of the lower levels. Sue and Ben where waiting for Hank and Logan to arrive. The Fantastic Four and X-men were on good terms most of the time, but not all. Of them all Ororo and Sue were the closest between the teams.

Sue and Ben had been quietly talking well they waited for the X-men to arrive. They stopped their conversation when Hank and Logan arrived. "Any news?" Sue asked when she saw them standing up to greet them. Ben and Logan locked eyes; a lot of the time when the Logan and Ben met they tended to fight. But, under mutual agreement they did not fight.

"No word yet," Hank told her. "The Professor, Rogue, Iceman and Gambit are at the mansion is case someone contacts us or Ororo herself returns. So far we have heard nothing. But, we are hoping that changes real soon," Hank told them.

"Yeah, yeah let's cut all this chit chat and do what we came here to do," Logan growled.

Sue shook her head not totally surprised at Logan's behavior. "Reed wanted to run some test to see if he could get any clues. He was going to see if there was any trace of radiation from teleportation or anything like that," Sue explained.

"With the history of the X-men and other superheroes it is not out of the realm of possibilities. Also there is a whole realm of possibilities with the wide variety of mutant powers that she could have been targeted by another mutant and teleported somewhere," Hank agreed. "Do you think he would mind if I joined him with his test?" Hank asked Sue.

"No need Hank," Reed told them stepping off the elevator. "I could not find any radiation but, I did find some flower pollen and traces of sleeping gas," Reed told them. "I know it is not much but, that is all I can tell you at the moment," Reed explained. He walked over to his wife and stretched an arm out and held the wallet in front of Logan for him.

Logan grabbed it and immediately sniffed it in hopes that he could catch a scent from it. He blinked then took another sniff. "Lots of flowers they over power any other smell on it," Logan stated.

"She did mention there was a new flower shop downtown that she was going to check out but, she did not mention its name," Sue stated.

"I will find it," Logan stated he turned and stalked toward the elevator. "Thanks for your hospitality and help," Hank told them. He gave them a slight bow before he raced after Logan.

"Good luck, and let us know what you find," Sue called after him.

"Will do!" Hank called out as he went to catch up with Logan. He knew the look Logan had in his eye when he took off, the one of pure determination. Hank caught up to him not too far away the Baxter Building.

"I got her scent," Logan told him.

"I will follow your lead," Hank told him. "If we find anything we will call the others for back-up. We do not know who we are up against it may is more likely a whole group of them then one person," Hank pointed out.

"Don't care, if I find them they are in major trouble," Logan stated as he started following Ororo's scent trail. He was off at a quick pace not even bothering to see if Hank was keeping up. Hank stayed on Logan's trail right up to where he stopped and entered a store. With a raised eyebrow Hank followed and heard the chime above the door. "She was here Hank and she did not leave by the front door," Logan told him. "There are too many flowers for me to know beyond that," Logan told Hank.

"May I help you gentlemen?" the lady behind the counter asks.

"Yes, we are looking for a friend of ours, she stopped by earlier," Hank stated. Walking up to the counter Hank pulled a photo of Ororo and himself out of his wallet. "Have you seen this woman?" Hank asked. Pointing to the picture, meanwhile Logan came up behind him with his usual tact.

"I am sorry I do not recognize her," the clerk stated. Logan took a deep breath and shook his head. He could not detect her lying. Her growled and stalked around.

"Did I say something to offend your friend?" she asked. She hid her anti-mutant feelings that she had. It boiled under the surface but there were enough plants giving off a variety of scents that stopped him from picking up her hatred. What Logan did not know is the woman did not see Ororo but knew where she was.

"Hank, we are leaving!" Logan shouted.

"Sensitive nose," Hank explained before heading out. When he got out he saw Logan taking his frustration out on a tree. "Logan, we need to regroup the others may have found some new information. Let us return to the mansion," Hank told him putting a big hand on Logan's shoulder.

***

Scott and Jean were taking the young boy they had rescued earlier home. He told them his name was Jacob. He had bubbly attitude and was enjoying Scott and Jean's company. He was young enough that he was barely fazed by the incident. "So you two are married? Do you have kids?" Jacob asked.

"Yes we are married. But we do not have any children yet, but, we hope to someday," Jean told him smiling. As she placed her head against his shoulder, as they walked. Jacob was in front of them leading them to his house.

Jacob was skipping ahead just being a kid. He smiled at Jean when she stated one day she they hope to. "I bet they will be nice," he told her as he hoped over a crack. Jean smiled and Scott pulled her a little closer in response to Jacob's words. Up ahead there was a young woman who seemed to searching for something frantically. Jean picked up her distress and turned to Scott.

"We found Jacob's mom," Jean told him. Jacob had been watching where his feet where going. Then he looked up and spotted the woman.

"Mom!" he shouted. Then he took off and she had just enough time to turn around to catch him in mid-air.

"Jacob! Thank god your save!" she exclaimed she held him tight. Then put him down checking him for any injuries. "What happen?" she asked when she was satisfied he was unharmed.

"They helped me," he told her pointing to Scott and Jean. The woman looked up and saw Scott and Jean. She seemed to be looking through them for a moment before smiling.

"Thank you, when Jacob did not come home after school we were so worried!" she told Scott and Jean. She was dressed in a blue shirt and blue jeans. She had a pair of sneakers on her feet. She had obviously been worried her black hair stuck in many directions due to constantly being rubbed and grabbed.

"We are just glad we could help," Scott told her before he and Jean made to leave.

"Wait!" the woman called out. She took Jacob by the hand and walked up to them. "If you and any of the other X-men ever are in the area and need help let me know," she told them. Scott and Jean's faces reflected their surprise that this woman knew they were X-men. "My ability is to see how a person sees themselves. You both see yourselves as X-men so that is how I know. Just ask for Cathy Nibbles," she tells them before she ushers Jacob inside.

Scott mind immediately started to think how a power like that would be a benefit to the X-men. "Scott, don't," Jean told him. "At least to after we find Ororo," she added.

"You know me too well," he told her with a smile as he kissed her head.

***

Earlier in the X-mansion"

Remy, Rogue and Bobby along with the Professor were looking for any clues to the whereabouts of Ororo. Remy was using his hacking skills to see if he could find anything in the FOH computers while Rogue and Bobby were looking though for any snippets in the news that might help. Rogue groaned in frustration and threw the paper she had down on the table. "Nothing! No dang nab hint!" she exclaimed in her classis Southern Drawl. Her yellow gloves had ink smears from the papers she had been reading.

Bobby gave her a sympathetic look from the computer he was on before turning back to it. She turned to Remy where he was still working. "Find anything Swap Rat?" she asked. She turned and saw his back stiffen. "Remy?" she asked a little worried.

"Mon Dieu!" he exclaimed as he pushed himself back from the computer. "Chere come look at this," he told her. Confused she looks at the monitor and gasp in surprise. On the monitor were plans for what looked liked a new police station. That included two underground cell levels. But, the plans where not for the city or state, they were for a Kelly Sticknim. "It is being built for the FOH," Remy told her. Bobby looked over to see what was bothering the two Southerners and saw the plans and walked over and looked at the plans closer.

"Could Ororo being held there?" he asked.

"No, it is being built still," Remy told scrolling to the top of the page that projected finished construction to be in another year. "But, it is not under the FOH it appears to be under one of their member's names. There are plans for a completed project on here but, so far I have not managed to crack the code for that," Remy explained. "Kitty is better at this cyber hacking then moi," he admitted.

"Well you did find this, which is a good start," the Professor stated rolling in. He had picked up the strong emotions and how come to investigate what had caused them when he saw the monitor.

"That is about all we found," Rogue muttered.

"Maybe the others found something," Bobby suggested. No one answered him they all were looking at the plans that Remy had found. The Professor was staring at them intently, studying them.


	4. Interrogation starts

Chapter 4:

Ororo was slowly coming to. She blinked trying to get her bearings, she found herself in a cell of some kind and found her wrist and ankles were tied tightly together. There were noises from outside the cell that she could hear. They became closer and Ororo could hear the actually words.

"How many mutants did you bring in?!" one male asked shocked.

"I swear when I closed the truck doors there were only two!" a second man exclaimed in confusion. There were sounds of a scuffle as many bodies were pushed along.

"In you go mutie!" she could hear one order. "Whoa he just disappeared!" he shouted.

"Most of them are!" the second man shouted. "Must be the dampener taking affect," he reasoned.

"Well I like these odds better two on one," the first man stated with glee.

Ororo worked on loosening her bounds when she heard something slam into the door of her cell. The little door slid back and a man's head was pressed against the opening. "Recognize your fellow inmate mutie?" the guard asked. Ororo meet the other inmate's eyes and instantly recognized as a member of X-Force codename Multiple Man. From the look he gave her it was obviously he recognized her as well. Then he was jerked away form the cell. Ororo could hear the guards laugh before the shut the viewing window. The pushed Multiple into the cell across from Ororo and slammed the door shut. They whistled as they exited the wing and the door closed nosily in the silent corridor.

That was till Multiple spoke up. "Storm, are you all right?" he asked.

"For the moment, but I would not be surprised if we were being watched," she warned him.

"Same here," he stated then fell silent. They would not give their captures any knowledge from their mouths. They both feared that they were being watched for any slip ups they may have or to pick up on anything they could use against them or their teammates. Ororo tried again to loosen the knots bounding her wrist but they were at such an angle that her fingers could not reach them nor could her teeth.

The silence resumes for awhile till the guards bring in more prisoners. Ororo can hear them slam each door shut and can hear some of the mutants trying to struggle and break free. She recognizes some voices, some she had fought against in the past others she never heard before. She thought she heard a least one person who had been a member of the X-men for a time but, she could not be sure without seeing the face.

"At this rate we may have to double the mutant freaks to make room for them all," she heard one guard state.

"What you think same sex that hate each other or opposite sexes should share the same cell?" a second one asked.

"I am not sure which one I would prefer but, it is not up to us anyway," the first one pointed out.

"Aye and we need to label the cells so we can keep them straight," the second stated. Ororo could hear something being slid into the doors. Then her door was unlocked and pulled open.

"You are going to answer some questions for us," the man stated. He and another man walked up to Ororo. She tried kicking out at them but, they simple stepped out of range. She had use enough forced she tipped the cot causing it and her to fall. The men hauled her up and dragged her backwards down the corridor. She could see some of the names on the doors as she struggled. She saw the names of Toad, Hairbag, and Vertigo was among them. She also identified several that were neutral and wanted nothing more then to live normal lives.

They stopped just before the doors. Another person approached and forced Ororo's head forward till her chin touched her chest. Ororo fought back as hard as she could but, the men holding her were too strong for her to break their grip. She felt a needle pierce the back of her neck and clamped her teeth shut refusing to make any noise from the pain. She felt something injected into her neck before being removed. Her head then was released. Ororo slowly raised her head before she had it fully raised a heavy metal collar was snapped around her neck. The collar was freezing cold making her shiver slightly.

A guard then opened the doors and dragged her into the receiving room then through the single door. They then forced her into a chair and tied her to the chair making sure she could not get out of the chair. She struggled to get out of the chair or make the chair move; the chair she found was bolted to the floor making it impossible for her to move it. The guards left at her then left the room leaving her alone in the room. She looked around and spotted a table and what looked to be a mirror along with another chair that was not bolted down. There were no decorations in the room and Ororo could only assume the mirror was actually a one way window.

Ororo was left there for several hours. She heard nothing because the room was sound proof and no one entered. She was monitored by a hidden camera that she could not see as well as through the one way window. Ororo did not speak the entire time. Then after being held there for several hours the single door slammed noisily open. Ororo was only slightly startled but, gave no indications that she had been surprised.

The man called Michael entered the room with a several large folders in his arms. He set them on the table then set them down one at a time there were a total of five over stuffed folders.

Ororo did not look at him or the folders she just looked at the door that he left open. She could see many people moving about some carrying items some pushing things. One trolley she could see had a variety of plants on it and was pushed next to a pick-up to be loaded. The door was shut before Ororo could see anything else.

The man spins the chair so that the back is facing Ororo and straddles it. "You will answer my questions and will do it truthfully," he tells her with no introduction or preamble. "The drug you were injected with earlier will force you to answer my questions and do it truthfully. Let us begin," he tells her.

Ororo gives a cold hard stare. She was determined not to reveal anything them to them. She knew that the less they knew the less of a chance they would be able to use the information against her and others.

"Let us see here," he opens the first folder and takes out a piece of paper. The second page Ororo can see is a photo of her and Logan at Harry's one night. "You are called Storm due your powers to manipulate the weather. You real name is Ororo Monroe. You were born in New York City to David and N'Dare Monroe. David Monroe was a photographer and N'Dare was his wife. When you were less then a year old your father took a job as photographer in Africa your mother and yourself moved with him. When you were about four years old a plane crashed into your home. It killed your parents and you were buried with mother's body. You had to dig yourself out and then where found by street urchins that took you in. You were trained by Achmed el-Gibar to pick pocket and pick locks. You did that till your pre-teen years when you had a calling to go South and traveled from Cairo to the edge of Sharra. On your way a man offered you a lift but, as you found out it was not from the kidness of his heart. He wanted your body, you fought back and accedently killed him. You then swore that you would never kill again but, have almost killed twice since joining the X-men. Well you were travelling you meet Prince T'Challa who would grew to be King and become the Black Panther. He was the first to help you with your powers," Micheal told her. "You soon came across a tribe who worshipped you as a goddess because of your power to manipiulate the weather. You were helped by a tribe member Ainet who helped you learn to control your power. Then many years later Professor Charles Xavier recruited you for his second team of X-men. Am I right?" he asks. He has a smirk knowing he was right and that Ororo would have to answer him.

Ororo clmaped her mouth shut. She was determined not to answer him but, against her will her mouth opened and she spoke. "Yes," she told him. He chuckled when she answered.

"You are lead by Professor Charles Xavier true?" he asks.

Ororo sturggles a moment before answering. "Yes," Ororo told him. Each time that she tried resisting the drug it became harder to fight it.

"Who is the most dangerous of the X-men?"

"Wolverine," Ororo answered. The drug had taken total control of Ororo so there was not even the slightest hesitation.

"Who is the leader in the field?"

"Cyclops."

The man grinned at how easy it was to get answers from her now. He closed the folder that he had opened and opened another. There was a list of questions. The man kept her there and asked question after question of her. It lasted several hours before he stopped asking questions of Ororo. When he finally stopped Ororo was exhausted from trying to resist the drug. He left the room with the folders leaving Ororo tied to the chair. Two new guards come in and untie Ororo from the chair. They wordlessly drag her back to the cell area. Some of the other inmates were walking around. She saw Multiple Man, Toad but there was no sign of Vertigo or Hairbag. Their heads turned to see who entered the Multiple Man and Toad immediately recognized Ororo. The guards dropped Ororo then walked back out locking the doors behind him. Multiple Man kneeled next to Ororo and helped her up. He fiddles a moment with the knots on the ropes.

"Man, those are some tough knots," he told her. Ororo only nodded. Multiple Man helped her get back to her cot. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I will be," she tells him. "What is the tally so far?" she asked.

"Not good," he tells her. "You the only X-men member I have seen so far but, they have seem to have caught a good number of mutants. And I still have no idea who captured us," he tells her.

"They are the Friends of Humanity," Ororo informed him.

"Not good," he responds.

"You are correct there," Ororo responds.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Logan was willing enough to regroup with Jean and Scott. But, he was not ready to head back to the mansion. Not without finding some clue about Ororo's whereabouts. "So what do we know?" Scott asked.

"We know Ororo went into the new plant store and did not come back out. She was not teleported by any of the usual means. From Reed tells us they found her wallet and they detected sleeping gas on it. So it is reason to be conclude she was taken by force," Hank told them.

"Which is why we should be out there looking for her," Logan said cutting Hank off. His anger was written all over his face.

"Hold it Logan," Scott told him. "You stated you lost her scent. Without any other leads it is best to regroup and see if anyone in the mansion has better information on Ororo's whereabouts. That is also something that I want to discuss at the mansion along with some information that the others found. Logan, they may have information that can lead us to Ororo," Scott told him sternly.

"I could also pick up her scent somewhere in the city," Logan stated.

"Where would you start? The city is massive place with many acres to cover. The possibility that you can find her individual scent with no starting place is astronomical. It would be almost impossible to even compute the possibilities they are so small but, if we regroup at the mansion we can use Cerebro to look for her and combine our knowledge and our resources and find her faster then you can alone," Hank told him.

"Logan, I am worried about her to but we have to think with our heads not just our hearts," Jean told while putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I have tried scanning for her but, I receive nothing. Which means she means that more likely she is out of the area or out cold. Either way we will not find her now. But, if we rest and combine our heads we can find her."

Logan grumbled a bit. He looked over at Jean who meets his eyes. She held them so he could see that she was also worried but, she also knew that going on a wild goose chase would not solve anything. "Fine," he growled. "But, if we find nothing in twelve hours I go and look my way," he told them. Jean rolled her eyes and looked at Scott and smiled they did not need words or gestures to know what the other was thinking. Hank was barely holding back a chuckle himself.

The X-men headed to their vehicle for a tense and quiet drive back to the mansion. When they reached Logan was out of the car and immediately storming the mansion. "He could at least wait for the rest of us," Scott stated.

"Would you if it was me?" Jean asked. Scott turned and Jean could tell he was about to say something. But, Jean spoke up cutting him off. "You and I both know the answer and Logan is extremely worried about Ororo just like you would be if it was me. I know she is your friend to but, she is also Logan's girlfriend," Jean pointed out. Scott sighed and ran a hand through his hair as Jean gave him a hug. Hank went ahead as Jean and Scott followed with an arm wrapped around the other.

They headed the underground level to the elevator when the Professor told them they were meeting in the War Room Jean and Scott immediately changed direction and pace. They heard an underlying tone of worry in the Professor's telepathic voice. They were at the war room within moments. The others were already there.

***

A little earlier in the mansion:

"I did a search on the internet and found only a small house owned by Kelly Sticknim other then the warehouse being built. The house is located out in California and he has been in New York all week," Kitty told them. Kitty had been out when the initial news cam and she returned right after Remy had discovered the building plans. She immediately went to work with the computers. She was able to track Sticknim's movement by following his bank records.

"That doesn't mean he does not know where she is though. From these plans it looks like they planning holding cells underground. Not to mention that it will look like a police station in the front when it really will mostly be offices," Remy spoke up. He had a copy of the building plans in his hands.

"What about the other building plans that Remy found but could not access?" Bobby asked.

"More offices but, no place for prisoners, it was built for meetings and conferences. They are keeping the higher ranks there away from any prisoners it seems. Probably so they can be safe in case prisoners escaped," Kitty told them.

"It also makes it a more likely story that they did not know what was happening in the other building if they were questioned," Bobby pointed out.

"What about the flower shop where Logan said Ororo's scent ended?" Rogue asked.

"I can find absolutely no connection. Not even membership for the owner of the store or the property. But, they could be using an alias," Kitty told them. "I did find a supply warehouse that the FOH are using under another member name," she told them. "Nothing to indicate that there are hostages there though," Kitty told them.

"It is worth checking out. The others will be back soon. I want everyone one in the War Room to combine our efforts," Professor Xavier told them. He had been deep in thought and trying to telepathically contact Ororo without any luck.

"Are you alright Professor?" Bobby asked when Charles suddenly grimaced as if in pain.

"I am fine Bobby I was just checking to see if I can find anything on the astral plane. All is quiet for the most part. The Shadow King was trying to break out of his prison again was all," he responded. "Now let us adjourn to the War Room," he told them. The others exchanged looks of worry ad the Professor left the room in his hover chair. They followed and soon were seated in the War Room.

"Did the others find anything?" Kitty asked.

"No, nothing that would help us locates Ororo. They found a mob chasing a young mutant but that was it," the Professor told them.

"The mob could have been behind Ororo's disappearance," Bobby suggested.

"Jean did not think they would be able to take Ororo out without her at least getting a message out," the Professor told them.

"What I don't like is this sudden rebirth of the FOH. They were awfully quite now they seem not only louder but more equip then ever. It seems they are not only are in the open but, are publicly supporting Creed's campaign," Rogue pointed out.

Just then Logan entered in a bad mood. Luckily the War Room had electronic doors or the doors might have been knocked off their hinges by Logan. He followed the others smells to the War Room. Professor then contacted Jean and Scott telepathically to join them.

As soon as Jean and Scott entered al eyes turned to the Professor. "So far we found plans for a building that looks like it resembles a police station and includes holding cells while having offices, along with another building being built by the FOH under members names it seems. We have a missing X-man and no leads to whereabouts," he told them with his hands tented in front of him in thought.

"I think we should call in more of the team, Professor," Scott told him.

"Warren and Besty are already on their way. They were in the city and I asked them to join us. I am trying to get an audience with Creed to try and stop the anti-mutant protest and riots. Scott, I want you Jean, Bobby, and Warren to come with me. Wolverine, I want you to lead Rogue, Remy and Psylocke to investigate the warehouse that Kitty found. Kitty I want you to see if you can find any more connections or buildings that they could be holding Ororo in," he told them.

"You got it Chuck," Logan told him.

"Do you think Creed will listen to you Professor?" Scott asked.

"I do not know but, it is worth a try," Professor told him. "You are dismissed he told them. One by one the X-men filled out the room till the Professor was left alone in the room. "God speed my X-men," he whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Soon after Ororo was dragged back to her cell it was super time for the inmates. They used their batons to separate inmates and make sure each inmate was in their assigned cell. Then quickly slid meals into the cells and left. Captives that were tied up like Ororo were left tied up and had no way to reach the food if they wanted to. The food was more slump then food. It was thinner then soup and had chucks of identified food floating in it. It smelled nasty and there were no utensils to eat it with. The was also a plastic cup of what was presumed to be water, except it was brown and appeared to have things floating in it. Ororo ignored the food knowing she would not be able force herself to eat it even if she could reach it. She had managed to loosen her bonds but not enough to free herself from them. She knew several of her fellow captives and knew that even enemies would work together to bust out, even if they turned the moment they were freed. Ororo had no way to figure out how long she been tied up since the FOH kept the harsh lights on all the time to prevent the inmates from getting a restful night sleep. It also gave the appearance of day time so that captives had no idea at what time it really was.

There was the sound of a door opening followed by a second door being opened. The second door opened, was the door to Ororo's cell. Ororo looked over at saw it was one of the guards entering her cell. He spotted the untouched "food" and chuckled. "Not hungry mutie?" he asked with a sneer. Or is the food to rich for your delicate stomach?"  
he asked as he walked up to Ororo. "You know I can fix it so that you are in too much pain to eat. You would like that wouldn't you?" he asked her with a laugh.

Ororo just ignored the guard knowing he was looking for some kind of reaction. She was determined not to give the guard what he wanted. She was trying to figure out a way to get every mutant out of the warehouse and to freedom. So far Multiple Man, from X-Factor, was the only one she had seen from the X-men or any of the many splinter groups which she was grateful for. Ororo did know that it did not necessarily mean none of the others had been captured, since it was possible that others were being held in another part of the building or in another facility. Ororo had taken the time to study the door of her cell and the corridor outside the cell whenever she could. Ororo looked at the guard in her cell and wondered if they were letting the prisoners mingle again. The guards were seemed to let the prisoners mingle for short amount of time before forcibly returning the prisoners to their assigned cells. The guards were very violent to any prisoner that did anything wrong, even if an inmate just looked at the guard wrong the guards would beat them. Storm had several bruises from the guards being rough with her for, as they claimed, looking at them wrong. The guards were well muscled and they used their batons freely on the prisoners. When he could Multiple Man kept her company and they would talk in quiet tones so they were not overheard. In their conversations they both expressed concerns over the food being drugged. The guard that had joked about Storm had been waiting for the second guard. It was rare to see one guard without another guard somewhere nearby. One grabs her and tosses her over his shoulder with less care then sack of potatoes. The other moved Storm's hair away from her neck to show bruising on the back of her neck with a needle mark in the middle. The bruise sat right above the metal collar each prisoner was forced to wear. With quick and practiced precision the one guard inserted and administered a drug from a syringe into the exact same spot as previous injections had gone. They then roughly dropped her onto the floor of the cell.

"They are not quite ready for you," the guard told her before they walked out. The guard had dropped her right on the side of the tray of "food" causing the tray to tip and the stuff on the tray to land on Storm and get into her hair. The guards laughed at the mess so hard that they to grab the wall and each other for support. "Almost forgot we caught another of your friends. One you would know very well since you worked together helping to save your species and everything," the guard told her with grin before leaving. They closed the door in her face barely making sure that they avoided closing her into the door.

They guards strolled down the corridor and slid back the viewing window to see their newest prisoner. "Look at the poor doggy," the guard teased.

"The poor doggy all alone without a master," the other teased before the two guards burst out laughing and closed the view window. The door tag read Rahne Sinclair, she had been part of the New Mutants but, was not on any current roster instead she had been staying away from the teams. The FOH had caught her when she tried protecting a young mutant from being captured and been captured instead. She was still half out of it due to the tranquilizers that had shot in her to take her down.

The guards started hitting doors with their batons pretending to play drums with no rhythm. The banging was loud enough to cover the groans and shouts of complaints from the inmates. The guards went up and down the corridor banging on the doors, making the most noise that they could giving the prisoners headaches as the sound harshly reverberated in the cells.

The door to the corridor is opened and a man gestures to the guards who immediately stop their banging and leave with the man. That left the prisoners with silence and headaches. The lights were as harsh as ever, which compounded the headaches the prisoners had gotten from the guards banging.

The guards on the other hand were sent out on an errand as the man that had summoned them went across the warehouse to the other double doors and entered the office area. He entered an office halfway down the hall Michael and Tom where along with the cashier from the flower store who had been the one to lead Ororo into the trap.

"Hello, Michael, Tom, Annie, how are you guys today?" he asked. He was average height with black hair and brown eyes. He was clean shaven, like the two other guys in the room.

"We are good just going through some files," Michael told him. "How are you today Jack?"

"I am fine, just sent the guards on their errand. I believe they were attempting to play drums except they have no rhythm. But, should have been enough to give those muties a headache," Jack told them. He sat down in an empty chair.

"Ok, here is the update. Someone at the Xavier Institute was able to hack in and see our plans for the new building. But, we will not halt production," Michael told them. The others gave him a startled look. "We are not going to halt production we actually will step up production. That way we can build a trap into the building. Since we know the Institute is the base of the X-men they will no doubt try to investigate it. When this happens we will be ready. We will only have the basic offices in the building," he tells them.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Tom told him.

"I agree take the X-men out. That will eliminate the main opposition for us. Once they are out of the way we can show that the muties are dangerous and need to be controlled," Jack agreed.

"The flower shop is still operational. So far it seems they don't suspect anything. The ones called Wolverine and Beast did stop by after we captured Storm," Annie told them. All three of the men's heads snapped to her at that bit of news. "They did not find anything since the plants overwhelmed any smell of her in the shop. He did not even seem to notice the side door," Annie explained.

"Unfortunately, the interrogations are not working very well. Even with the drug they will not freely give us the information, and only the information requested," Michael tells them. "But, I have come up with an alternative," he tells them. The others all leaned in to listen. Michael placed Storm's file on the table and opened it so one side was a photo of her coming out of the sewers looking exhausted the other side had a page of text stating her weaknesses. "She is claustrophobic. If we do not give the information we want we can confine her so that she has a claustrophobic attack. Then leave her in the confide area. Then threaten not to let her out till her associates tell us what we want to know," he tells them. He sets down two more folders and opens them so that Rahne aka Wolfsbane and Multiple Man pictures stare at them.

"She is strong of will. As we have already seen. She showed more resistance then the others when exposed to the mind control drug. It would be a struggle to get her into any confined area," Tom pointed out.

"I know, she has been injected with the mind control drug. So that she will be forced to answer questions. When that is over she will no doubt be exhausted. When she is she will be easier to force into a confined area. I already have the box ready for her. I figure that if we drag Multiple Man in before she exhaust herself that it will have a greater impact on his psych," Michael explained.

The others nodded in agreement realizing that Michael had planned things very well. Tom pulled Mutiple's folder closer to him so he could see it better. He read about how Multiple could make duplicates of himself. He noticed that he was part of X-Factor not an X-man but, there was a picture of him and the other members of X-Factor helping Storm and the X-men on a mission.

Then he scanned Rahne's folder absorbing the information there. He nods in thought then pushes them back and turns to Annie. "I have been meaning to ask Annie, how is your inventory?"

Annie pulls out a folder from the bad next to and opens it. "We are low on the medium clay pots. They were ordered along with Mongolia seeds. I am bringing back some sleeping gas to make sure we have amply supply. The new shipment of roses arrived yesterday. Other then some exotic plants that are on back-order we are fully stocked she informed them

"Make sure you take more then you think you will need. We will get replacements out as soon as we can but, we have to be careful that we are not found out," Tom reassured her. Annie nodded in agreement.

"I think that is it for the meeting for this week. Make sure to keep the updates coming and keep an eye out for the mutie freaks," Michael told them.

4


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Wolverine was piloting the jet to Chicago city where they had found a warehouse that had ties to the FOH. Wolverine along with Rogue, Remy, Psylocke and Shadowcat were the X-men on the mission with him. "Listen up; we can not be sure that this is the place that Ororo is being held. But, there may be clues to where she is. If nothing else we can cut off some of the FOH of supplies," Wolverine told his team. He had his mask off while he piloted.

"We know that already mon ami. There a reason you are telling us again?" Remy grumbled. He was getting agitated and it was not hard to figure out why. He was shuffling a deck of cards in his hands without pause.

"Making sure we all on the same page Cajun," Wolverine growled. Rogue, Shadowcat, and Psylocke exchanged glances. They knew that both Wolverine and Gambit were concerned about Ororo and that was making them edgier then normal.

"ETA two minutes, we are going in low," Logan told them as he dropped the altitude of the plane. He did this sharply and several X-men found themselves grabbing their seats in death grips. Then Logan flattened out and there were a couple of relieved sales.

"An actually bloody warning would have been nice!" Psylocke shouted at Logan displaying her temper. The others also had looks of angry but did not say anything out loud. It was time like these that Psylocke was glad she was no longer a telepath and was only a telekinetic now. The others thought would have more then likely be loud enough to be heard over her barriers and be like they were all shouting at her.

"I am with Psylocke on this one Logan, a warning you were going to do that would have been very nice," Kitty told him in a calmer voice then Psylocke had talked to him in.

"Be grateful the ladies are present," Gambit muttered under his breath. He spoke quietly so it was only loud enough for Logan to hear.

"Quite your belly aching," Logan snapped at them all.

"Easy sugah, we all are on edge. Let us not take out on each other," Rogue cut in with her Southern drawl. It was unusual that Rogue was the playing peace keeper because she was known to have a temper and was usually one the first to join a fight.

"We are landing," Logan growls as he lowers the landing gear on the plane. No one dared to make a comment about having a warning. Using the VTOL capabilities Logan gently lowered the plane to the ground. The X-men quickly filed out and Wolverine activated the plane's security and rendered it invisible to the naked eye. "Let's go," he growled. He led the way toward the warehouse and saw is was surrounded by high fence. As they approached the warehouse they were alert for any security including cameras. Gambit spotted the security cameras first. Three around a side door, he pulled out three cards and charged them with kinetic energy and threw them at the cameras. The cameras immediately exploded when the cards hit. The X-men waited to make sure no alarms had been triggered. Then they had to get over the fence. Gambit pulled out his collapsible bo-staff and with a flick of his wrist he extended it and used it to vault over the fence. Rogue grabbed Wolverine and Psylocke and flew them over the fence gently touching them down next to Gambit, Shadowcat air-walked over the fence.

They hugged the shadows as they made their way to the small door. Psylocke, Shadowcat and Wolverine had all been trained in the way of the ninja making it hard for them to be spotted. Gambit had training of a thief to help him sneak in. Rogue simply used her ability of flight to avoid making any noises, since she was the least trained in stealth.

The door was locked and Wolverine pulled his hand back and let his claws slid in place. Before he could slice the door open Shadowcat placed her hand on his arm. "Allow me, I am less likely to trigger alarms," she pointed out. Wolverine locked eyes with her. There were no words needed between them. Finally with a growl Wolverine nodded.

"Be careful," he told her.

"You bet!" Shadowcat responded when she phased through the door. There was a tense moment when the door opened but everyone relaxed when Shadowcat was revealed to have opened the door from the inside.

"No guards in sight and I took out the camera watching the door," Shadowcat told them. Wolverine nodded and took the lead. The others fell in behind him knowing that Wolverine's sensitive nose would be able to detect things that they could not.

Wolverine lead them deeper into the compound and then tensed the others saw the change and took fighting stances. They were not sure what caused Wolverine to tense but, they did know it could be nothing good. Gambit pulled put and expanded his bo-staff while Psylocke hand glowed and her sword took shape in her hand. Rogue rose a little farther off the floor while Shadowcat started phasing.

Wolverine lead the team to a t-section, each direction looked the same way. Wolverine did not hesitate and immediately headed to the right deeper into the warehouse. The others followed silently knowing Wolverine's tendency to stalk silently. Each member if the team had a unique relationship with Wolverine.

Kitty, had trained to be ninja under Wolverine's instructing to fight his old mentor, Ogan. She learned how to be a ninja in ordered to fight Ogan's control. Her ninja training combined with her phasing ability made her a tough foe to fight.

Rogue had once been an enemy of the X-men and had absorbed her abilities of flight, super-strength, durability and endurance from a friend of Wolverine's Carol Danvers who was also known as Ms. Marvel. But, they had reconciled on a trip to Japan where Rogue helped Wolverine save his love Mariko from death. Since then they had been close teammates.

Psylocke had originally been British and not been a great physical combatant. Then her mind had been transferred to an Asian body and she gained the knowledge and physical strength of a ninja. Wolverine and Psylocke grew closer practicing their moves against each other. It gave them a unique bond with each other.

Gambit and Wolverine on the other hand did not get along at first; in fact they had fought over concern for Ororo. They got along for the sake of the team but, were very competitive with each other. They were ok friends and both were close to Ororo and protective of her. To Logan, Ororo were his best friend and a kindred sprit. To Gambit Ororo was like a sister who like him grew up thieving to survive.

Wolverine led them toward the heart of the complex. So far security was pretty light. Then Wolverine stopped and concentrated on something the others could not detect. "We got trouble," Wolverine told them.

*****

At the mansion:

Scott approached Professor Xavier after Wolverine's team departed. "We are ready to go sir," Scott told him. The others were waiting for them outside. Hank, wearing an image inducer would drive the car while Bobby sat in the passenger's seat. Warren, Jean, Scott and the Professor would be in the back of the limo owned by Warren.

"Thank you Scott," the Professor told him. He directed his motorized wheelchair out toward the mansion's front entrance.

"Hank called the Avengers to keep an eye out for Ororo. They said they would keep an eye out but, it seems Kang is trying to conquer our time zone again. Cap assured us that the Avengers could handle him," Scott filled the Professor in. Hank had for a time been an Avenger and was considered to be a reserved Avenger.

"Reed and Susan Richards assured me that they to will be looking for Ororo but are similar tied up," the Professor told Scott they had by that point reached the mansion's entrance and Jean used her telekinesis to lower the Professor's wheelchair down to ground level.

"If we were already up to the armpits in FOH trouble I would start thinking Magneto was going to be knocking soon," Bobby told them. No one laughed at the lame attempt at a joke. They all knew that it was highly likely that Magneto would attack at any time.

The Professor slid himself into the car and Scott placed the wheelchair in the trunk for the trip. Everyone filled into the car and Hank drove them to the airport. From there they took a privately charted plane or Warren's to Washington DC. There was a limo waiting for them. Scott drove the limo to the hotel.

The Professor had called ahead and scheduled a time to see Creed. Creed's secretary told him she had given him an hour time for the appointment, the day after they landed in DC. The plan was for Charles to meet up some supporters and attend a highly politically party. Bobby and Scott would be escorting the Professor to the party. Warren, Jean and Hank would be working on trying to hack into Creed's files during the event. As far as the general public knew the Professor was not connected to the X-men in any way.

Luckily their first night in DC was peaceful. Hank was unable to hack into the files he wanted but, he was not caught in the act either. The politically party was the same old political game that had been going on for years, one side trying to convince everyone that they had the right of it and gain supporters then the other side trying to convince them they were in the wrong of it, the never ending world of politics.

Early the next morning was the appointed time to see Creed. Scott and Jean accompanied the Professor. Scott and the Professor were wearing gray business suits that were common attire for DC while Jean was wearing a black skirt and jacket that blended in with the many political women. Her hair was up in a bun that rested at the nape of her neck. They reached Creed's office five minutes before the scheduled time.

"Yes, we are here to see Mr. Creed I had an appointment, Professor Xavier," Scott told the secretary.

She looked up and studied them a moment then looked at her computer monitor and then back to Scott and blew a gum bubble. "I am sorry but Creed has cancelled the appointment. He stated that he had other more important business to attend," she told them. She did not sound apologetic at all and popped another bubble before noisily chomping on her gum again.

"What you mean other important business?" the Professor asked. Jean wheeled him closer to the desk so he could see the secretary better. He could sense Scott's confusion and resentment. Jean was as confused as Scott and the Professor.

"All I was told that he had more important business. If you want to schedule another appointment I can schedule it for you," she told them sounding rather annoyed.

"Does he have any time today?" the Professor asked kindly. He knew Creed was planning a political game with him and did not like it but, he was going to try and avoid adding fuel to the fire.

The secretary with another pop of her gum turned back to her monitor and started typing. She rubbed her left shoulder shifting her shirt collar revealing a tattoo on it. It was of the Earth and had the letters FOH across it. All three immediately recognized the tattoo. They all stiffen recognizing the tattoo instantly. The secretary took no notice and turned back to them. "He is all booked for the rest of the day and the rest of the week," she informed them popping yet another bubble.

Before anyone could ask her another question Creed and several others stepped out of the office. "You will have my full support on the project," Creed told the one man who was balding as they stepped out of his office. The secretary's whole attitude instantly changed when the doors open. She took a tissue and took the gum out and placed it into the trash can. She stood up tall and picked up several files and walked towards Creed and company.

"I knew I could count on you, Senator," the balding man responded. He shook Creed's hand and headed out with a couple of his men. That left Creed and his two guards. Both had matching tattoos that the secretary had on their necks.

Creed then noticed that his secretary was not alone. He instantly recognized Professor Xavier and approached him. "My apologies Professor Xavier I had some pressing business come up and that was why I had to postpone our meeting. My old secretary was suppose to call you yesterday morning to reschedule the appointment but, it seems that was just one on many things she neglected," Creed told him. His mind was closed off and nothing leaked through to the Professor. "I am truly sorry for the in convince," Creed told him.

"If you have some free time now, I would not take much of your time," the Professor told him. At the same moment Creed's secretary handed him several folders.

"I am sorry Professor but I actually running a bit late and have a telephone conference coming in at any moment. Christina, hear can help you reschedule," Creed told the Professor. As the phone rang Christina, the secretary, picked the phone up and placed her hand over the mouth piece.

"Sir, it's your conference call," she told Creed.

"Yes transfer it to my office," he told her. "I am very sorry about this Professor but, some things could not be put off," he told him as he reentered his office, followed by his guards. The men slam the doors shut behind them.

"Well that was a waste of time," Jean muttered. Christina pulled out another piece of gum and started chomping on it loudly.

"Did you want to schedule another appointment?" she asked rudely.

"No, not at this time," The Professor told her as he gestured that it was time to leave. The three left in silence to they reached the elevator. It had apparently been on their floor because as soon as Scott hit the button to go down the doors opened to let them in. As soon as the doors closed Jean looked over her shoulder in thought.

"Jean?" Scott asked he could sense her thoughts were partly confused, partly thoughtfulness. Even without their physic rapport Scott would be able to tell something was on her mind.

"Creed's guards, they had seemed to have a fresh memory of Ororo. I am not sure how recently they saw her but, it seemed to be very recent," she told them.

"Sounds like our suspicions are conformed then, the FOH have Ororo," Scott stated rubbing his neck. Scott wrapped his arm around his wife and kissed her head.

"What has me perplexed was that I did not pick anything up from Creed, not even a stray thought," the Professor told the two. They reached the lobby and stepped out deep in thought.

***

In Creed's office:

Creed put the phone on speaker after his guards closed the doors. "What you have to report?" Creed asked all business.

"We are captured a couple more mutants, including a former X-men codenamed, Wolfsbane. We have mad some progress with interrogations but, they still resisting. We do have plans have to break one so she will be easier question," he was informed.

"I take it you are talking about the Storm. Professor Xavier was here I do not think he knows that we have her," Creed responded.

"Well they obvious suspect something. The second warehouse was broken into. The alarms were triggered were have not confirmed who the intruders are yet, but we suspect they are X-men."

"If I am not mistaken he was accompanied by Cyclops and Phoenix." Creed told them.

"Well that still leaves several of the X-men out there and we do not know how many intruders have infiltrated the warehouse."

"Keep on it, and let me know if the next round of questioning turns anything up," Creed ordered.

"Of course sir," then the phone was hung up.

Creed stretched and sighed. "Hopefully the physic barrier prevented the Professor from getting into my mind. With Storm as our captive I am sure they are going to be more emotional and more likely to make mistakes," Creed told his guards with a grin.

"So the rearrangement of your schedule was on purpose sir?" one of the guards asked.

"Yes, it was part of the plan. I would have gone farther and tried capturing them here but, that would have been too risky. They still are unaware that we know where they are based and that there Professor is a mutant and that gives us the advantage," Creed tells his guards. All three men smile in glee.

****

In New York City:

Sean and Emma had heard about Ororo's disappearance and had traveled to NY to help. Most of the students took off to Muir Island for a break. Two students had decided not to go Leech and Jubilee. Leech wanted to help and knew that Ororo grew plants. So he decided he buy some for the mansion.

He had gone off on his own and found the small flower store that had many exotic plants. He opened the door and it chimed as he entered. The sales lady looked and smiled. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"I am looking for some plants for a friend," he tells her. "Well we have some fabulous new plants. Some very exotic ones in the next room, we have to keep them in a different atmosphere then the rest," she explained.

"That sounds like what I am looking for!" Leech told her excited. The woman smiled and showed him the door gestured for him to precede her. He stepped in the room and turned to her confused. Only to find the door had been closed on him. Soon the gas filled the room and within moments he was out cold.

The sales picked up the phone by the register and pressed one of the speed dials. She waited a moment before speaking. "Caught another one," she spoke into her phone then hung up and returned to tending the plants in the empty store humming to herself in satisfaction.

Down the street:

Emma suddenly stopped in her tracks in middle of walking. Sean and Jubilee turned to her wondering why she had stopped.

"What is it lass?" Sean asked.

"I just loss contact with Leech," she told them. All three exchanged a look then started high tailing to where they thought Leech was suppose to be. When they found no signs of him they high tailed it to the mansion for help.

Authors note: I kinda rushed this chapter. So it is probably not that great. Reviews are always welcomed. And English was never my greatest subject, lol.

7


	8. Chapter 8

Authors note: Sorry if this chapter sucks. I have been having trouble getting it done and it probably came out bad because of that. I know I am that great at grammar but, it is something I have to work on. Right now I am just trying to work on getting the stories out. Comments are encouraged!!

Chapter 8:

Ororo had been left laying on her side where she had been dropped for a few hours before the guards returned, picked her up and carried her to interrogation. There they set her in the chair still tied up. As they were dragging her out to the interrogation room they passed a guard carrying Leech to the cells. The guards left the room for a few minutes before Michael entered.

"Hello witch," he greeted her with a smirk. "I believe that you are referred to as the weather witch by many. Am I correct?" he asks her.

"Yes," she tells him without hesitation. Ororo had been through interrogations many times and the drug grew more potent the more often it was used on a person.

"You recognized the green skinned little mutant that you passed on the here, did not you not?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Ororo answered. She had indeed recognized Leech when she passed him as they took Ororo to the interrogation room. She knew him for a while now and hoped he would be alright. Leech power had manifested early and he had a very unique power, the power to neutralize other mutant powers.

"He neutralizes any mutant's power that in his close proximity correct?"

"Yes," Ororo told him. She was ready to fight the guards and her captures. She was too weak from the repetitive abuse from the guards and captures along with the repetitive injections of the drugs. Ororo was not sure how long she had been held captive but, she knew it was awhile. They had brought her several meals since she had been imprisoned so she was pretty sure it was a few days.

"Now we know you are claustrophobic. Now, tell us what is the weakness of your fiends, start with naming the Wolverine's and Cyclops's weaknesses," Michael demanded in Ororo's face. He was close enough that when he talked his spit flew into Ororo's face.

Ororo clamped her mouth shut. It was one thing to admit something he already knew. But it was another to give them information they did not have. Ororo's whole face sequenced up in pain as she tried avoided opening his mouth.

"I demand answers!" he shouts in her face. He grabs her hair and yanks it back losing his patience. Ororo clenches his teeth to avoid telling him anything. Her eyes are hard and full of anger but, she did not dare voice anything in case the wrong thing slips out. Michael slaps her across the face she with enough force she and the chair crashed sideways. He then grabs her tightly around the upper arms and hauls her up. "Are you going to give me answer!" he demanded.

"Ororo glared at him with angry and pain. "No!" she tells him. There was pain and defiance and pain in her voice.

"Looks like you need to be taught a lesson," Michael tells her casually. There was a knock on the door and Michael grinned. "Perfect timing, come on in!" he calls out. The door opens and several men come in carrying what looked like a coffin. It was constructed of wood that was polished smooth and treated so it was dark with the water stain. There was a lighting mark that went down the middle of the door. The lightning was black and looked to have been burned into the wood. They set it down and it took most of the men to lift the lid off the casket. The casket was padded on the inside the cloth was black giving it even more of a forbidding look.

"Do not worry you will not suffocate. There is an air supply that will prevent you from suffocating and it is not sound proof so you can hear us and we can hear you," Michael told Ororo as he walked to the man. "Place her in," he told the man as he walked out the room. Ororo started to struggle in her bonds but, she was too weak to put up much of a fight and she was bound tightly up.

The men picked her up and easily over came her struggles and placed her in the coffin and then put the lid on and latched it down tight. Ororo could be heard trying to escape and calling out for help. The men only smiled, patted each other on the back and left Ororo trapped.

***

In the cells one day later:

The guards decided that Jamie was the next to be interrogated. They drugged him and dragged him into the interrogation. The coffin had been placed against one wall so that the prisoners had full view of it. The guards laughed when they notice him looking at the coffin. They chuckled and shoved him into the chair and forcefully restrain him in the chair. "Yes, that is for your friend the weather witch. She has not been very cooperative so we are going to make sure that she understands that we mean business," the one guard told him.

"Now, tell us the weakness of the main X-men!" the other guard demanded.

Jamie looked at him with a smirk. "I don't know. I am not around them enough," he tells the guard. "I guess you're not as good at getting answers as you thought if you don't have the answers already," Jamie gloated.

"I got something here that will wipe that smirk off your face," the first guard spat at him. He gestured at the second guard and they both unlatched the lid of coffin and moved the lid to reveal Ororo who was out cold. "You do realize she is claustrophobic right?" he asked.

"You guys are sick!" Jamie shouted.

The guards chuckled and just shrugged as they re-closed the lid and latched it again. "I think that wolf shifting girl is next on the interrogation list. You can spare her a session if you give us some useful information," the guard told Jamie.

"She would not want that since you will most likely be using the information against the very people who would try rescuing us. I have no doubt that she does not want that information in your hand," Jamie told him. He had been given less of the drug then Ororo and had eaten some of the food and gotten more sleep then Ororo had since he been captured.

"Time for him to go back," the one guard sighed. The other nodded and the two of them dragged him back to the cells and dropped him there. He watches the guards then looks to see who else had been captured and Rahne and Leech approach him. Leech he never really knew personally but Rahne did.

"Jamie, is it true they are holding Ororo confined?" she asked with her soft accent. Leech looked at him eagerly wanting to know also.

Jamie nodded not liking the whole situation. "She is alive, for the moment. But they are getting impatient. They are pushing for answers even harder," he told them sitting down.

"What are they looking for?" Leech asked. It was easy to mistake Leech as a little kid due to his small size. But, he was in his preteen years and experienced many things that gave him insight beyond his years.

"Weakness of the X-men and any information that they can use to bring them down," Jamie told them.

"Alright, everyone back into your cells!" the guards ordered. They grabbed Jamie and dragged him out of Rhane's cell and slammed the door when they made sure Leech was out. They shoved him into his own then slammed the door shut. Leech ran to the one Ororo had been in to avoid the guards rough handling.

"Smart boy," the second guard stated as he slammed the door shut. The guards walked out then whistling.

Thank you for all those who have reviewed so far!!

Storm Warning

Kendrat199

WrapMeInYourArms

Blackrose5242

KimDWil71

BelieveInDreams


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Scott pushed Charles' wheelchair in front of him as they exited the building. "Talk about a waste of time," Scott stated to Hank, Warren and Bobby who were waiting outside for them.

"So what happen?" Warren asked.

"He apparently had other meetings to attend to. At least that is what he claimed," Jean told them. "I think he knows where Ororo is. At least the guards seem to have a recent memory of her," Jean told them thinking out loud. "Both Creed's bodyguards and secretary have the FOH tattoos. So Logan and his team may be close to finding her," Jean pointed out.

The group was about to step into the limo when there was an explosion above them. Jean quickly threw up a shield to protect them from the flying glass and pieces of the wall. Pandemonium broke loose on the streets. People were screaming and running away from the explosion.

Hank de-activated his holo-watch and Warren slid of his trench coat and freed his wings from the harness. Bobby iced up as Jean converted Scott's and her outfits into their costumes. Scott took off his ruby covered glasses and slid his visor over his eyes.

"Phoenix, we need to see if anyone needs help up there. Archangel, Beast, and Iceman I want you three to make sure that no one was hurt and that the street is cleared," the others nodded in agreement. Jean, codename Phoenix, lifted Scott, codenamed Cyclops, up to where the explosion originated from. While, Warren, codenamed Archangel, and Hank, codenamed Beast, raced one way to help citizens. While Bobby, codenamed Iceman, created an ice slide and raced down in the other direction.

Phoenix and Cyclops glided into the hole that the explosion had created. They looked around to see where they were and what damage the building had suffered. "What happened here?" Phoenix asked softly.

"I am not sure but, I think this was Creed's office," Cyclops told her. There was the sound of wood creaking and they spun as the door fell and behind it stood Creed, his guards and his secretary.

"You! You are the ones who attacked!" Creed shouted pointing at Phoenix and Cyclops. Many people were turning their attention to Creed and the two X-men. They heard sirens in the background growing closer. Creed's guards attack Phoenix and Cyclops. Phoenix barely raises a TK shield in time to stop the bullets.

We need to retreat, Iceman is already having trouble with the police, Phoenix sent to Cyclops.

The Professor? Cyclops asked.

Being escorted away by the police, Beast is reporting that there is a group of FOH blocking the other end of the street, Jean told him.

"Crap," Cyclops quietly stated. We need to pull back. Tell the others to regroup on the roof. Phoenix nodded and sent the message. Archangel flew to the roof as Phoenix levitated Cyclops and herself to the roof. Iceman joint them a moment later with Beast riding with him on his ice slide.

"Now what?" Iceman asked.

"Now we find a way out of this mess," Cyclops told him.

"Then lets us depart post haste," Beast stated. "The way seems clearest to the East," he stated pointing East where police and the FOH did indeed seem to be thinnest.

"Let's go," Cyclops stated. Iceman started descending using his ice slide with Beast catching a ride with him. Archangel took to the air staying low as Phoenix lowered Cyclops and herself to street level. From there they stayed close to the buildings avoiding people as much as they could. Phoenix telepathically cloaked them from onlookers when needed. It took a long weary hour to meet up with the Professor and start the trip home.

**********

"What kind of trouble Wolverine?" Shadowcat asked.

"We tripped a silent alarm," Wolverine told her. "Sounds like the guards are already on the move," Wolverine told them.

"Since they already know we are here why stay silent, sugah?" Rogue asked. She made a showing of pushing her jacket sleeves up in a show of readiness. Gambit fanned out several playing cards in his hands; he would charge them with energy making them useful weapons. Shadowcat and Psylocke adjusted their stances so they were ready for an attack.

"We still do not know if Storm is here so we need to make sure she is not," Shadowcat pointed out. The others nodded and Wolverine leads the way. He was following a scent trail of several people who repeatedly had come in that direction. Wolverine signaled for the others to stop. They did and took up fighting stances ready to fight. It did not take long for several FOH members to appear around a corner, all were well armed. Wolverine crossed his arms and popped his claws before dropping them and charging the guards.

"Shoot him!" one guard ordered, all the guards raised their handguns and pointed them at Wolverine. They immediately started firing their guns. The hall was soon filled with smoke from the guns, bullets, and noise of the guns. Wolverine raised his claws deflecting some of the bullets. Rogue stepped in front of Gambit and Psylocke, the bullets bounced off her due to her super tough skin. Shadowcat on the other hand simply let the bullets passed harmlessly through her.

"That supposes to hurt sugah?" Rogue asked standing with her hands on her hips. Gambit threw several cards at the guards disarming several. Shadowcat took several guards out with her ninja skills. She mixed in with the guards so that they could not shoot her without risking hit their comrades. Psylocke formed her physic katana and crouched ready to spring into action. Gambit threw several more cards knocking guards off their feet and into each other. With the guns temporary silent Psylocke spring into action. She slashed the guards with her physic katana it knocked them out but, left them unharmed due to her great control over it. She and Shadowcat effortless took down many of the FOH well Wolverine made sure that his guards would not get up again and their guns would never be used again. Rogue plowed through the guards knocking them out and away as easily as a bowling bowl knocked over pins.

In the matter of moments the guards were indisposed off. As soon as it was safe to Wolverine lead the others down the corridor. They encountered only a couple more patrols and most were small and were taken down with ease. They made it to the other end only to find it was indeed a warehouse. There were no signs of prisoners.

They made there way back to the jet and took off, all were disappointed that they had come no closer to finding where Storm was being held.

***

At the mansion:

Wolverine was landing the jet at the same time the Professor arrived with his team. They meet in the meeting room.

"Mission was a failure Chuck, didn't find any leads or clues where she might be," Wolverine growled pushing off his mask. The others on his team were also disappointed and it showed on their faces and in their body language.

"We do have reason to believe she is alive," the Professor told him. Wolverine and his team immediately gave him their undivided attention. "We can also confirm that the FOH indeed are holding her prisoner. Jean was able to pick up a fresh memory of Ororo from one of Creed's guards," the Professor explained. He was about to say more but, the doors where open and a yellow blur came running in and throw itself at Wolverine.

"We heard about Ororo and Leech is missing," Sean told them with his Irish accent. He and Emma had followed the yellow streak that had been Jubilee into the room.

"We are pretty sure that the new flower shop on 45th street was where he dissappred," Emma told them.

"Sue told me that Ororo had gone there to look at flowers," Jean pointed out.

"I caught her scent going in but, not coming out. The shop it self had too many flower scents for me to pick Ororo's scent inside the shop," Wolverine pointed out.

"So we still not sure where they are. I pulled up the blueprints for the store and there is not really a place to hold someone captive," Hank told them.

"But it may be place to start," the Professor told them and the others nodded in agreement.


	10. Chapter 10

Authors note: I am currently in school and working, which is making it hard to update regular and having a muse that like to run off and hide does not help either. Plus, weird sleeping patterns due to random schedules and real world things getting in the way have been slowing down my writing.

Chapter 10:

The guards had dragged Rhane and Leech into the interrogation room the next day. They could see the coffin and the guards taunt them by telling them their friend is in the coffin and alive. But, they did not show them Ororo. The next day they dragged Jamie back into the interrogation. It had been two days since Jamie had seen Ororo last and there had been no sign of her in the cells. Jamie saw the coffin that she had been held when he last seen Ororo. They had had chained Jamie to the chair and opened the coffin showing Ororo who was obvious was starving and semi-dehydrated. She had obviously been roughly handled by the guards. The guards pulled Ororo out and placed her in another chair as they questioned Jamie.

"Now, you can see what we did to your friend and unless you want another of your friends to share her troubles I suggest you cooperate," Michael told him.

"How do I know that you won't hurt them anyways?" Jamie asked him. "You are keeping us prisoners already and your organization did not seem restrain themselves before from harming mutants. So why should I trust your word now?"

"Do you really want to see another friend in her condition?" Michael asked angrily pointing at Ororo. Michael cups her chin in his hand and turns it side to side. "I do admit she is good looking for a mutant. I have been lonely since this job takes almost all my free time so I have not been able to really enjoy myself," Michael tells him.

Jamie struggles with his chains trying to get loose. "You are sick!" Jamie told him angrily.

"Better sick then a filthy mutant," Michael shot back. He let go of Ororo chin's and her head dropped down so her chin rested against her chest. Her chest slowly rose and fell as she breathed. "Besides I would think that you might want to consider your options, you either play the game with me or you watch as I try to get your friend to play the game," Michael told him.

"You are sick!" Jamie yelled at him.

"You are repeating yourself boy," Michael tells him nonchalantly.

"She is worth five of you," Jamie growled.

"Watch your mouth!" Michael demanded back handing Jamie across the face.

"Hits harder to," Jamie said with a smirk spitting out some blood while grinning. His words were slightly slurred but clear enough for someone to understand. Michael realized that until the swelling went down he was not going to get more out of him that would be understandable. Michael left slamming the door behind him.

"Arrogant fool!" he shouted as he marched away from the interrogation.

"Still not talking?" Tom asked as Michael passed.

"Yeah, slapped him across the face hard enough he spat blood in response," Michael told him.

"I saw that, he will be hurting for few days from that one. It was nothing less then he deserved though. It might teach the others we are not fooling around," Tom pointed out. "Your hand ok?"

"Yeah it is fine," Michael told him flexing it a few times.

"Besides the only way a mutie could hit someone harder then that would be with their powers. If you did not teach that mutie a lesson I am sure that others will be less likely to try protecting the X-men if they know it will lead to being beaten themselves. Maybe we should try the ones called Vertigo or Toad they both have a long history of being enemies of the X-men. I know you have been trying with mainly the X-men but, if you try with their enemies they may just give you the information willingly. In promise of taking down the X-men," Tom pointed out.

"You have a point there, Tom," Michael agreed. "I think I will try that tomorrow Tom. One question though, why did you not mention this earlier?"

Tom shrugged, "I figured the X-men would know more about their teammates. So I did not suggest the idea earlier." Tom explained with a shrug. Michael nodded in agreement.

"I did not think of it like that," Michael admitted.

"No one can think of everything," Tom responded.

"So true," Michael replied with a laugh.

"Well we did make sure that the warehouse was registered under a member's alias. I mean who would connect Tom Michael Ackneya and Mat Lee Hicknachya? Besides no one can really pronounce either last name," Tom pointed out.

"Yeah, I would not know they are the same person if I was not at the meeting. I think it was genius to scramble the letters of the name and create a new name," Michael pointed out.

"You think the guards returned the muties to the cells? I wanted to see their reaction to their friend's current condition," Tom told him.

"I think they did and wanted see their faces' myself," Michael admitted. "Oh well you can not get every thing in life."

***

In the cells:

The guards opened the door and the inmates glared at them suspecting that they were going to try interrogating the next person. They stepped in pushing Jamie with their rifles. Another carries Ororo in and places her in Rahne's cell. "Have fun!" the one guard that brought Ororo told them. He gave them a mock salute as he and the other guards left laughing.

"Is she alive?" Leech asked quietly in a voice that could barely be heard.

"She is, for now," Jamie told him quietly.

"If she does pass away it won't bother me!" a woman with white hair that had green hair mixed in stated. She turned her back on the gathering going back to sulk in her cell.

"At least she would try to save you and not run when things get hard," Jamie pointed out. He was handed a cup of water by one of the other inmates. "Thank you," he told him then turned to Ororo. "Ororo, Ororo wake up," Jamie told her gently slapping her check. Trying to get her to come around and wake up.

"Anything?" Rahne asked. Jamie sadly shook his head. He had not gotten any response from Ororo.

"We have no idea how long she has been out," Jamie told her sadly. "From what I estimate they had her locked up for a couple days," Jamie told her quietly.

"She will be alright won't see?" Leech asked hopefully. Jamie let out a sigh debating if he should tell Leech the truth.

"She will be. She is very strong," Rahne told smiling. Rahne herself believed what she was saying and Leech in turn believed her and gave her a beautiful smile. "She just needs rest now," Rahne told him. She then looked at Jamie. "We all need rest," she pointed out.

"We can rest when we escape," Ororo voice told her. Her voice was dry and harsh and Jamie helped her sit up. He tilted the cup of water to her lips letting her drink. She took a few sips before pushing the cup away. "Leech you are the smallest and most likely to go unnoticed by the guards," Ororo pointed out.

"What are you thinking Ororo?" Jamie asked.

"Leech can sneak out and lead the others here," she told him as she pushed herself up. She made it up with Jamie's help. "Leech, there is a little space you can squeeze into next to the doors that the guards come in. If you hide there you can escape when they come to close the cells. I want you to hide in one of the trucks then when it stops somewhere escape the truck and find help," she told him.

"Ororo, you must be kidding me! There is no way that will work! What if he gets caught!" Jamie asks.

"Then we tell them the truth, that I told them him to do it," Ororo states. "It can work and it will give us the advantage," Ororo told Jamie.

"Leech thinks it is a good plan. Leech will do it!" Leech told them. Jamie and Rahne were about to protest but Leech shook his head. "You two are too big to fit," he told them. Then before they could protest farther Leech turned and hid where Ororo suggested and he did indeed fit in the small spot. Right after he hid the door opened and two guards entered. While their back was turned Leech slipped out the door and into the main warehouse.

"Alright everyone to their cells!" the guards shouted. They shoved Jamie into his cell and locked Rahne and Ororo in the same cell.

"Hey where is that green kid?" one guard shouted.

"Probably hiding under the bed too scared to show his face," one of the other females stated disgusted.

"Yeah, she probably right some actually have some sense," the other guard stated locking the last cell. "I mean they are not stupid enough to try and escape. Especially after what happened to their friend," he stated as they left they closed the door shutting off their laughter.

"Goddess protect him," Ororo whispered.

"Amen," Rhane added.

***

Leech raced across the floor of the warehouse and scrambled into the first open truck he saw. It was full of plants and Leech hid in the back trying to blend in with the plants. He stayed still as he heard voices and then the doors were closed and the truck started. Leech crept out of his hiding place and decided he was alone in the truck. He found the doors by the sliver of light that came in. He was knocked off balance when the truck started moving. He then sat and waited as the truck made its way. He was bounced and tossed around the truck as it moved down the streets. He slid a little when the truck turned corners as it made its way. He heard the breaks engaged and the truck jolted to a stop. Leech fiddled with the doors and finally got the door opened. He then jumped out just before the truck continued on its way. He quickly ran down a near by alley and found a sewer cover. He struggled a moment before moving the manhole cover. He then dissappred into the sewers and the Morlock tunnels, he grew up in the tunnels and knew them. He made his way to the Xavier mansion though the tunnels.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

At the X-mansion:

Everyone had gathered in the War Room trying to think of their next plan. They still had a missing teammate to find. They also heard from some of the other extended team it seemed that Ororo was not the only gone missing. Rahne, Jamie, and Leech had gone missing and their teammates had no idea where to find them. Wolverine was pacing the room well Remy was shuffling his cards. Jubilee was loudly popping her gum as they tried to come up for ideas on how to find their missing teammates.

Scott and Jean were watching over Hank and Kitty's shoulders as they worked on the computers. The Professor was scanning trying to find to touch the minds of the ones that were missing. The others were waiting as patiently as they could. Then the intruder alarms sounded. Everyone froze for a moment then turned to the Professor. "It is a friend," he told them. "Morlock tunnel entrance," he told them. Wolverine nodded and took off to the Morlock tunnel entrance. Remy was right on his heels followed by Rogue and Kitty. Sean and Banshee exchanged nods and joined the others running to see who it was.

Wolverine was the first to arrive to see who it was that triggered the alarm. He triggered his claws in preparation of battle. He reached the last corner before the tunnels and paused scenting the air. Remy and the others lined up behind him. Logan took started smelling the air then retracted his claws.

"Leech," he stated. Then he walked around the corner followed by the others. "What happened?" Logan asked/demanded of him.

"Lady Storm told me to hide in truck and seek help. Leech hide in big truck then when truck stopped Leech got out. Leech hid in tunnels and made his way here. Leech can help you find Lady Storm and the others!" Leech told them.

"Where are they?" Kitty asked him gently.

"Big Warehouse! With two wings out in the country along the rough roads it only took a few turns and then was in the city," Leech told them. "Leech can show you where Leech got out."

"Leech, where did they kidnap you from?" Sean asked.

"The flower store, the woman tricked me then trapped me," Leech explained.

"Who else did you see that you know?" Kitty asked.

"Rahne and Jamie there were others who I did not recognize though," Leech told her.

"Where they all in the same building?" Kitty asked.

"All in the Warehouse," Leech told her. Kitty nodded and looked at the others seeing concern and determination on their faces.

"Before we do anything we a need a plan. Let us rejoin the others in the War Room and come up with a plan of attack and try to narrow down where the warehouse is," Kitty told the others.

"Aye, lass that is exactly what we should do. As usually you are the voice of reason," Sean told her. Logan looked like he was going to take off when Rogue blocked his way with crossed arms.

"Sugah, until we know where she is there is no reason to go racing off. We all are worried about her and know she is alive if she helped Leech escape," Rogue pointed out. Wolverine was about to protest when a loud growling could be heard and it was not from Logan.

Leech looked in embarrassed and crossed his arms over his stomach. "Leech is hungry," he stated.

"Then we should get you some food," Emma told him. "We will get Leech food them meet you in the War Room," Emma told the others leading Leech to the kitchen. The others nodded and closed the door that lead to the Morlock tunnels then rejoined the others in the War Room.

It seemed that either Jean or the Professor had picked up at least part of the conversation since there were scanning blue prints of warehouses near the city but, in the country. Kitty slid into the seat next to Hank to help with the search.

Wolverine started scanning the screens then something caught his attention. "Hold it," he stated.

"See something Logan?" Jean asked. The others gathered around to see what he had spotted.

"Kitty call up the F.O.H. member list. Something seems to be familiar," he stated. Kitty as asked and they scrolled down till Logan motioned her to stop. Two names were listed for two different on the screen.

"What is it Wolverine?" Scott asked.

"Kitty is there a word scrambler on the computer?" he asked. She nodded and entered the two names. The computer worked the names to find out they had all the same letters.

"Logan, how did you notice that?" the Professor asked.

"Something seemed off and I thought the names looked a little familiar. I cannot recall where I have seen them before," Logan stated. The others accepted his answer knowing that it could be dangerous to disagree with him at times. Kitty's hands started flying over the keyboard in front of her.

"Got an idea there Kitty?" Sean asked.

"Seeing if I can find the blueprints for that warehouse. There!" she proclaimed as she called them up. The blueprints revealed a large delivery area as the main part of the building with two wings and a large room off the delivery area. The one wing had just a large open area while the other area had what looked like offices. "These blue prints are several months old so it very well could have been changed," Kitty told them.

"It is best lead so far and the wing could be changed to cells or the offices could be redone to be cells," Wolverine stated.

"I agree Logan," the Professor told him. "Scott, I can read your thoughts clearly and agree. You will take the team to the Warehouse and simultaneously check both wings and the room. That way each door is covered and they will not slip out with hostages. Wolverine, you will lead a team into this wing," he pointed the wing that had no designed. "Scott, you will lead a team into the wing with offices. Jean, you will lead the last time to check out the room then rejoin the others," the Professor instructed. "I will leave how you break into teams to you. But, Sean I would you and Emma to stay here to keep an eye on Leech," he stated.

"Of course Professor," Sean stated.

Jubilee immediately stood by Wolverine as did Kitty. Hank and Bobby stood next to Scott as Warren stepped next to Jean. Betsy stepped next to Wolverine as Remy stepped next to Jean and Rogue stepped next to Scott.

So it divided so on Scott's team there was Hank, Bobby, and Rogue. Wolverine had Kitty Jubilee and Betsy. Jean had Warren and Remy.

"Suit up, you leave in five," the Professor told them. They all nodded and left knowing that time was the essence. In less than five minutes the X-men that were going on the mission were suited up and on the plane. Scott was going had just finished his pre-flight checks and was starting the plane. "Godspeed my X-men," the Professor told them as they took off.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

The Blackbird landed silently in front of the Warehouse. "Jean, link us all telepathically. I want to know what everyone finds as soon as they find it. We know the original blueprints but, they could of change things. Wolverine, take the lead going in. After we clear the main area then we will split up," Cyclops stated. He looked at the eyes and faces around him they showed one thing, determination. They all were ready to rescue their teammate and friend. "Let's go," he told them. He lowered the ramp off the Blackbird and Logan quickly exited followed by the rest of the team. Cyclops waited just long enough to active the Blackbird's cloaking field and secures it before following the others. It was approaching midnight as they approached the Warehouse. Wolverine carefully approached the Warehouse with Shadowcat and Gambit following close behind. Of all the X-men present the three of had the most training in entering silently and not being caught. Wolverine nodded at Shadowcat who phased through the door seeing if there were any guards in the room. She phased back out quickly signaling that there were guards present.

*Four guards are present. They are currently engrossed in watching a small TV,* Shadowcat reported telepathically.

*Jeannie?* Logan asked telepathically.

*Already asleep,* she responded with a grin as she and the other joined up. Wolverine nodded and released his claws and sliced the doors open and the X-men entered on how alert. The team split up and prepared to burst in to the section they were searching simultaneously.

Wolverine unleashed his claws, while Remy pulled out a card and charged it, and Cyclops prepared to unleash his optic blast. *Picking up anything Jean?* Cyclops asked telepathically.

*Nothing, behind the doors there seems to be dead zones. I think that once we pass the doors we will be unable to communicate telepathically passed the doors,* Jean replied to Cyclops' question.

*Could be the reason we could not contact Ororo telepathically,* Hank pointed out. The others nodded.

*Enough talk. Time for action,* Wolverine grumbled.

*Right,* Cyclops sent. The Three teams prepared for action. *One, two, three, GO!* Cyclops counted down. On go Cyclops let out his optic blast, Gambit threw his card and Wolverine cut the open the door in front of him simultaneously. There were bangs as the two doors burst open followed by a third being kicked open.

Jean's group:

Remy was the first in with a second charged card. Jean and Archangel where right behind him. "Empty," Gambit told them as they looked around. There was a table and a chair along with another chair that was obviously meant to restrain someone. Jean attempted to scan the area and find her telepathy neutralized.

"We had better join the others," Jean told Archangel and Gambit. They nodded after checking to see there was a hidden door but, found none. Jean and Archangel joined Cyclops' team while Gambit joined Wolverine's.

Cyclops's team:

As soon as Cyclops blasted the doors in Rogue flew in and encountered gunfire. The gunfire did her no damage and she grabbed two of the members of the F.O.H. that had been firing. She hauled them down the hall by the collar of their shirts.

"Is that any way to treat a lady?" she asks them. She drops them hard on the floor and takes their guns and disarms them. She tosses the guns away and Iceman froze them in place. He also froze their guns preventing them from being used.

"They wouldn't know a lady if they saw one," Iceman added. He was totally covered by his ice as he looked at the two guards that were glaring at him. He smiled at them then waved as he left them there.

"Archangel, Jean did you find anything?" Beast asked when he spotted the two joining them.

"It appears that it was interrogation room. But, no signs of anyone in the room," Jean told him. Cyclops nodded and checked the nearest room. It was full of cabinets. He was followed by Beast and Jean. Archangel and Iceman waited outside in case more F.O.H. members showed up.

"My Stars and Garters!" Beast exclaimed. He was looking through one of the files. He handed it to Cyclops with a look of horror. Cyclops took the file and Jean noticing the look step up to her husband side so she could look with Cyclops. She let gasp of surprise when Cyclops opened it. It showed Ororo looking a bit haggard and tied up. Beast started pulling files at random.

"All the files seem to be of mutants. Some captured others freed. Including ones on us," he started flipping through one and growled as he flipped through it.

"You alright Beast?" Cyclops asked concerned. Jean and Cyclops walked over to him and Jean placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I know Storm would not give information about the X-men easily. Especially not the weakness of members," he told them handing them the file. Had written notes on personal information on several X-men.

"Jean, your telepathy?" Cyclops asked.

"It is not working I am afraid," she told him.

"May I suggest we evacuate then destroy the files here? Since most of the files are typed there is a chance that the handwritten notes have not been transferred to computers," Beast suggested.

Cyclops and Jean nodded in agreement. Jean turned to go when a file caught her attention she opened it and nodded to herself and closed it and took it with her. "Find something good in it?" Beast asked.

"That I did, and I believe the police will want to see this," Jean told them. Cyclops and Beast looked at her and she smiled at them and knew she found something good. They stepped out to see Archangel and Iceman waiting for them.

"We need to destroy these files after we make sure the building is empty," Cyclops told them. The other nodded and looked at the guards and Cyclops set them free I suggest you gather up your comrades and leave," he told them. They glared at them and backed away before sprinting down the hall. "We need to finish checking these rooms," Cyclops told them. The nodded and checked the other rooms only finding more files and what appeared to be a break room. Along with a small kitchen in the section of the hall they were investigating. They made their way down the hall back the way they came.

Wolverine's team:

Wolverine kicked the door open then stepped back as several mutants rushed out. Several Logan recognized right away as they rushed out. "Oh look it's the X-men!" Toad pointed out.

"You want to make something of it Toad!" Wolverine told him preparing to attack.

"Nope! But, have fun with the guards!" he stated. Toad leaped it him and used his powerful legs to knock Logan back and into the hall. Toad then laugh as he hopped away followed by several other mutants, some they recognized others they didn't know.

Gambit joined Wolverine's team as they entered the door. "What I miss petite?" Gambit asked Shadowcat.

"Toad and many others all but flew out of the hall as fast as they could," Shadowcat told him. "Find anything?" she asked back.

"Nothing useful," he informed her.

Shadowcat nodded they were all on the alert as they entered the hall. Wolverine was going toe to toe with several guards that were protecting the remaining prisoners. They were doing their best to keep Wolverine away from them. Besty formed her katanna of pure mental energy and plunged into one guard's head knocking him out. Remy charged and threw one of his cards at another guard it exploded on impact knocking the guard back and out. Wolverine dispatched the last guard.

Shadowcat found the keys to the cells and tossed them to Gambit so he could unlock the cells.

"About time you guys found us!" an angry voice called out. Shadowcat shook her head and pulled out a familiar figure. "What took you guys so long?" Jamie asked angrily.

"We are here aren't we?" Wolverine growled back.

"Do you know what we have been through?!" Jamie shouted back.

"Enough!" Shadowcat shouted at the two of them. "We can play the blame game later!"Shadow cat told them before stepping into another cell and pulled Rhane out. Gambit unlocked another door and a mutant peeked out and bolted away.

Several doors were opened already from the escaped prisoners. In a short amount of time only one cell remained with a prisoner. Gambit unlocked the last cell and opened it and let out a gasp of surprise. "Mon Dieu! Stormy!" he shouted. Gambit's shout caught everyone attention of everyone in the hall. Wolverine was instantly by his side and growled. Gambit kneeled by her and examined the ropes that she was tied up with. "Wolverine, Gambit remove the collar you remove the ropes," Gambit stated pulling out his lock picks. Wolverine nodded and with one swipe of his claws the ropes were removed. Gambit carefully worked on the collar till he finally heard a click and the collar unlocked. Gambit removed the collar then placed his trench coat over Ororo.

Ororo let out a moan and open her tired eyes. "Remy?" she asked in a harsh, quiet voice.

"Don't talk," Remy told placing a finger over her lips. She let out a sigh of relief and allowed Remy to pick her up without protest. She laid her head against his chest in exhaustion. Remy and Logan traded glances knowing that she must be totally exhausted not to protest being picked up and carried.

Wolverine released his claws and growled turning toward the entrance where the guards that were still breathing were. Shadowcat and Jubilee saw him and exchanged glances before running and placing themselves between Wolverine and the guards.

"Storm needs medical attention. Killing them will not help her," Shadowcat pointed out.

"We need to get Beast. Not take out the guards. If you kill the guards the F.O.H. may come after us in revenge and how does that help Storm?" Jubilee asked. Wolverine growled and looked at the two. Jubilee and Shadowcat knew that they had the best shot of calming Wolverine down.

Wolverine locked eyes with Jubilee and sighed retracting his claws. "Get Beast," he told her.

"You got it!" Jubilee told him before running out to find him. Shadowcat walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. She gave him a soft smile and he gave her a nod in return.

"Thanks," he tells her.

"Anytime," she tells him.

"Did yea find the coffin?" Rahne asked.

"Coffin?" Shadowcat and Wolverine asked together totally confused.

"They stuffed Ororo in a coffin for a time to break her sprit. It was padded from what I could tell but, they kept her in there for awhile as far as we can tell," Jamie explained.

The other part of the team arrived then. Jean let out a gasp and rushed to Ororo's side. Ororo and Jean locked eyes. Jean grabbed her hand and Ororo squeezed weakly back.

"Gambit say we destroy dis place," Remy stated.

"I agree," Wolverine told them. "We should place this place down," Wolverine looked around and everyone seemed to be of the same mind, bring the building down.

"I will take Ororo, well you bring the house down Monsieur Remy," Beast suggested.

"Oui," Remy stated. He carefully placed Ororo in Beast's arms. He then pulled out several cards and started charging them.

"We need to make sure all the guards get out," Cyclops ordered. Wolverine snarled at him for suggesting that. He and Cyclops started staring a staring contest.

"Ororo needs medical attention and I am not waiting for you two to decide who the Alpha dog is," Shadowcat told them. Her words did the trick and the two broke the staring contest.

"Wolverine, Jubilee, and Beast get to the plane with Ororo, Jamie and Rahne. The rest of us will make sure the building is empty of people then bring it down," he ordered. Everyone nodded and Wolverine lead the way out. "Iceman, Gambit and Shadowcat you clear the other hall. Jean use your telekinesis to get the guards out of here," he ordered. She nodded and started moving the guards out.

Rogue lead the group to the other side and used her strength to break the ice around the guards and they took one look at her and Iceman and fled the building.

"Better move mon amis, Gambit about to bring the house down!" he warned them as he pulled out several cards.

"Gambit go!" they heard Cyclops shout from the main area. Shadowcat and Iceman high tailed it out of there. Gambit threw the charged cards setting files on fire. Rogue flew at the walls and using her super strength smashed through them. Gambit charged several more cards and threw them into the already damaged wall. Dust, smoke and debris started filling the air. Gambit then charged two file cabinets before Rogue grabbed him and hauled him out of there. They meet Cyclops who was using his eye beams to destroy more of the building. Rogue grabbed him and he swept his eyebeams across the warehouse walls causing the whole building to collapse and then a large boom sounded as the file cabinets Gambit had charged exploded.

"You two certainly brought the house down," Rogue told them as she lowered them in front of the Blackbird that had its engines warm and waiting for them.

"Gambit's pleasure Chere," Gambit told her with a dazzling smile that she returned as they boarded. Cyclops followed them closing the hatch. He sat in the co-pilot's seat while Jean was in the pilot's seat. Beast was in the back with Ororo and Wolverine while everyone else was seated in the main cabin. As soon as everyone was strapped in Jean used the VTOL capabilities of the Blackbird to take off vertically before blasting off for the mansion.

Beast started an IV drip on Ororo to help rehydrate her. The plane back was made in silence. As the plane landed Beast carefully picked Ororo up and with Wolverine holding the IV bag race to the infirmary Beast placed Ororo on the med-bed and quickly hooked up a heart monitor to her. It was strong and steady. Hank made sure that her only problem was the lack of nutrition and dehydration. Logan stayed with her the whole time.


	13. Chapter 13 The End

Chapter 13:

It was a week following Ororo's rescue and the day after the election. Remy and Rogue were sitting on the opposite of ends of the couch watching the news. "The election is official and the expected winner Creed lost to his opponent," the news caster announced.

"Merci!" Remy exclaimed.

"I agree Sugah," Rogue told him. "About time we got some good news," she told him. The news continued about the election then switched over to other news.

Both Rogue and Remy sat up when they saw the destroyed warehouse. "Today we have found out a warehouse believe to be destroyed by the renegade mutant outlaws the X-men has been linked to the F.O.H. group. It is well known the F.O.H. have long harbored anti-mutant feelings. It is believed to be connected to several kidnappings and attempted kidnappings in the New York City area. Also files that have turned that link a local flower shop to the F.O.H. and to several kidnappings. The flower shop has been closed down and police are stating that it might have been secretly a front to a kidnapping operation," the news reported.

"I still want to know how you were able to sneak that folder into the police station undetected, Remy" Hank told them coming in wearing his doctor's coat unbuttoned with his glasses perched on his nose.

"Trade secret Mon ami," Remy told him with a grin placing his hands behind his head with a smirk.

"Swamp Rat just wants us to think he did something special," Rogue shot back.

"You wound me Chere!" Remy told her grabbing his heart. Hank chuckled as Rogue just rolled her eyes.

"Get real Swamp Rat," Rogue told him. As some commercials came on. She and Remy were well known for their on again off again relationship. Hank just chuckled and headed to the kitchen where he found Warren and Bobby raiding the fridge.

Warren noticed Hank come in and tossed him a Twinkie which Hank caught with ease. "How is Ororo doing?" he asked as he snacked on a granola bar he found.

"She is doing good, trying to convince me she is fine and ready to get out of the med-lab. She is threatening to flood the lab if I do not release from the Med-lab soon," Hank responded with a chuckle.

"You mean she hasn't yet?" Bobby asked laughing. "I thought she would have done that several days ago!"

"Logan wouldn't let her. She is getting stronger and I plan to release her later today on the condition she takes it easy," Hank told them.

"You really think she will take it easy Hank? She can be as stubborn as Logan and he has a healing factor," Warren pointed out.

Hank chuckled at Warren's comment. "That is the reason I am letting her leave because we all know Logan will make sure she obeys. Also she is getting a bit antsy and longing for the freedom of the skies," Hank pointed out.

"Can't say I blame her, I would be getting antsy myself. Plus with her claustrophobia and her connection to nature she is got to be longing for open skies. I know I do when I am coped up as long as she has been and I not either," Warren pointed out and he stretched his wings in emphasize.

"Should we take bets how long to she takes to the sky?"Bobby asked jokingly.

"I think we all know the answer to that one Bobby," Warren shot back.

"As soon as she can," all three stated laughing.

***

Jean and Scott were outside sitting on a bench:

"Everything ok Jean?" Scott asked. "You have been awfully quiet lately," he pointed out.

"I'm fine just picked up some thoughts from Ororo that are disturbing," Jean told him leaning into as he wrapped his arms around her. "It seems that her nightmares about being trapped have returned with vengeance. The past few nights her nightmares have woken me up," Jean told him.

"I believe Hank told her she can leave today so that will help. I am sure sleeping in her attic with her plants will help," Scott pointed out.

Jean nodded in agreement. "I expect her to take a short flight since she has been cleared and want to be around just in case," Jean stated.

"I highly doubt Logan will let her go too far or too high," Scott pointed out.

"Still," Jean started but was cut off when she felt a wave of relief coming from the doors of the mansion. She turned to see Ororo standing there with Logan at her side. Scott turned to see what had gotten her attention and saw Ororo and Logan standing there. Ororo with a smile called a wind to her and lifted into the air. Logan watched her and walked across the yard as she flew across.

Jean could feel her sense of relief as she flew and smiled herself. Jean made sure to keep an eye on her as she touched the clouds. She then disappeared into the clouds, before dropping down under the clouds again.

"She seems to be doing better," Scott commented to Logan.

"She is getting there. Having nightmares as I am sure Jean can testify," Logan responded without taking his eyes off Ororo. Who was lowering herself for a landing.

"Tired darlin'?" Logan asked her.

"Yes, but refreshed," she told him as he wrapped his arm around her.

"You have been needing that for awhile," he told her giving her a kiss as she sat on a bench facing Jean and Scott.

"You look better then you have been," Scott pointed out.

"Still getting tired easily," she stated with a sigh.

"It takes time I am sure with some more rest you will be back to normal," Jean told her with a smile.

"Which I have been telling you for days now," Logan pointed out to Ororo with a chuckle. Ororo smiled at them and nodded.

"That you have love," she told him giving him a kiss. The four turned their attention to the setting sun that was giving off orange, pink and red against the clouds. It was a beautiful ending for the team.


End file.
